


Promises Written In Ink

by homestuck_up_in_here



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, Drunk Character, Eventual Smut, M/M, Second person POV, Tattoo parlor AU, abrothers fight, alcohol use, dave has emotional stability problems, handjobs, i'll add more as the story goes, idek ill still tag it just in case, like he isnt an alcoholic but he uses it to cope kinda?, the striders own a tattoo shop basically, there's a lot of curse words too, theres piercings too, yeah - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-03-12 08:30:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3350132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/homestuck_up_in_here/pseuds/homestuck_up_in_here
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tattoo/Piercing Parlor AU </p><p>One day Jake decides he wants a tattoo and john comes along with him to Precision Ink, the nearest place with good ratings.</p><p>John meets Dave, one of the workers and Jake meets Dirk, the dude tattooing him. Romance ensues </p><p>(I'm planning on this being multi chapter and I may change this summary because I suck at summaries)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Appointment That Started It All

“Where would you even get it?” You ask, eyes still trained down at your DS.

“Double pistols, on my hip bones.” he smiles, sitting in front of you on the couch of your apartment.

You sigh, saving your progress in Pokemon X before setting your DS down as you look up at Jake. 

“Are you sure about this, dude? I mean tattoos are permanent and all that.” You sit up a bit from your slouched position on the couch and he nods, well you guess he’s determined. 

You sigh and stand up, walking into your room to change back into real clothes from pajamas, it’s saturday at noon, you woke up around two hours ago and did not feel like actually doing shit on your day off but tattoos sound cool so whatever, and Jake may need a ride after since he doesn’t seem to understand how painful tattoos are. 

“Alright I’ll take you there, but you owe me dude. tattoo parlors don’t really seem like the ideal place for me to hang out.” You call out to him as you swap out your clothing for black skinny jeans and some band T-shirt that isn’t too dirty. Damn you need to clean the laundry more often. You look in the mirror and sigh as you try to fix the mess that is your hair before deciding on putting on a black beanie, letting your bangs poke out a bit, after you slip on some black vans, you walk back out with your keys in hand and adjust your glasses a bit as Jake smiles and walks out of the apartment and down the stairs with you over to your car. 

“Are you gonna get anything done while we’re there?” Jake asks you as you pull out of the parking lot and head in the direction that Jake had told you to go. 

“Uhhh… Not that I know of. I don’t really think I’d be able to wear tattoos or piercings well.” Jake snorts at your response. 

“Oh nonsense John, I think you’d look just fine in any one that you want.” Jake smiles over at you as he speaks, you shrug. 

“I dunno, maybe. I’ve always kinda wanted to get a nose piercing so… maybe.” You respond and Jake's smile grows just a bit. 

“Well I think it’d be cool so go ahead and do it, I want the pistols to be detailed so it could take a while.” You shrug again 

Eventually you pull in front of a decent-sized parlor with a sign up front saying “Precision Ink” in white lettering, everything else on the building seems like shades close to black so it looked pretty cool, you lock the car doors and walk up to the front entrance, opening it and walking inside with Jake. 

There’s a counter with some guy standing, drawing something as he sits at a stool and Jake walks up, you look at the guy and damn you gotta admit it, this dude is fine as hell. 

“Hello, I have an appointment for a tattoo with uh..” Jake pauses to think of the guy’s name, you’re guessing but the receptionist interjects before Jake says anything. 

“Dirk, yeah he’s in that room over there” He gestures at a door to the right of him that’s propped open, Jake nods a little and thanks the receptionist who you look at again and notice that he’s looking at you. You bite your lip a bit and awkwardly follow behind Jake after looking into the guy’s aviators for a couple moments. He just smirks and returns to the drawing on his desk. 

When you both walk in there’s a guy, Dirk, you presume, with the same blonde hair but it’s kinda spiked up and he’s wearing sunglasses too but these ones are kinda triangular and abnormal looking in your opinion at least, Jake walks in and talks to him and you go and sit in a chair to the side so you’d still be relatively near Jake but still out of the way.

Jake sits down and pulls his shirt up, exposing where he wants the tattoo and all that and dirk takes a few reference photos and sits them near his workspace and begins the machine. Most of the time you look around then occasionally at the tattoo making process but you keep stealing glances at the guy at the front, he’s wearing a white button up with a black tie and black ripped skinny jeans and he’s still leaning on the sort of high counter, writing down things and answering calls, normal receptionist stuff. 

Once Jake’s tattooing session gets almost boring and you kinda wanna gag at the flirting going on between jake and the tattoo dude, what’s the deal with that anyway? You stand up and tell Jake you’ll be back soon and you walk over to the counter, almost immediately the guy looks up with another smirk, this time you look at all the details you could see on him, a bottom lip ring to the right, his left eyebrow is pierced and his sleeves are pulled up to his elbows, allowing you to see that on his right forearm there’s a black feather that looks pretty good and detailed. Your eyes snap up to his glasses once you hear him clearing his throat and you hear his voice. 

“Hey, need somethin’?” His voice is really smoothed out and nice, there seems to be a slight drawl in it as well. You bit at your lip again. 

“Oh, uh.. I dunno, I wanted to know if i could get a nose piercing?” You sigh softly and gulp as he nods a bit and stands up a bit more. 

“Oh, yeah alright I do those, gimme your name.” He takes out a pen and looks down at a paper that has a list of what you presume is clients and all that. 

“Oh, okay then. It’s John Egbert… By the way, what’s your name?” You ask nervously. 

“Dave. ‘kay, John let’s go pierce your nose then.” he smiles a bit and once he finishes writing, he takes you into another room to the left of the one Jake’s getting tattooed in, once you’re inside he walks over and grabs the needle a cotton swab soaked in cleaner, telling you to pick a nose ring, you walk over and pick a basic little black ball one so it wouldn’t clash too much. You point it out to Dave and he nods, after setting everything up he has you sit at a chair and you tell him you want your right nostril pierced, then he tilts your head back a little. 

“Alright so hold still.” Dave says and you snort, nodding as he clenses the area of your right nostril and then he lines up the needle on a spot he had made as reference and after a couple seconds you feel a sting in your nose and you shut your eyes, surprisingly you didn’t move but you did squeak a little, making Dave chuckle, after he puts the nose screw in carefully, he cleans around the area and everything he backs up and nods. 

“Looks good on you, Egbert.” He smiles faintly to himself as he removes his gloves and sets the tools he had used inside some cleaner and then he looks at you again as you stand back up, grinning as you look in a mirror. 

“Woah thank you, it looks great!” You basically beam and he smiles, walking back out and you follow as he explains how to clean and care for it. Once you’re at the front you notice Jake is standing up and talking to that Dirk guy again, he’s clearly into him, all giggly and such. You smile at Dave and pay for the piercing, thanking him again and dave hands you your receipt as well as Jake’s and you hand it to him. 

“Oh john, I’ve finished up and they look perfect, thanks to dirk here.” Jake grins, nudging dirk a little and he laughs, taking the receipt from him and writing his number on it- damn, Jake get it-he blushes a bit and Dirk hands it back. 

“Alright, pleasure meeting you both, I’ll talk to you later Jake, I hope.” Dirk smiles, Jake nodding quickly and you say goodbye to him as he walks back into the tattoo room and you look at dave who’s eyes were already seemingly on you, you just bite your lip and wave goodbye as Jake walks out and you follow after him and out of the parlor. 

“That was so much pain but holy shit, John did you see Dirk?” You laugh and unlock the car, nodding as you get in the front seat. 

“Hell yeah I did, good job Jake, I didn’t think you had it in you do get the tat AND get the guy. Nice.” You start the car and Jake beams as he enters the number into his phone. You bite your lip a little as you drive and think about Dave a bit. 

After a few minutes, Jake breaks the silence again. “So that Dave guy was cute too, and I’m taking notice to a stud in your nose. Did you flirt? Is he interested? Are you?” You laugh a bit and shrug. 

“I didn’t get a number, I think he checked me out a few times and yeah, I am… Do you like the piercing?” You glance at Jake who nods. 

“I told you it’d look good. And damn, well maybe you’ll see him around. He’s the same age as you and this town isn’t all that big.” You just nod a little and turn back into the apartment parking lot. 

“Maybe… Hopefully, heh.” 


	2. The First Date(s)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake and Dirk go on a date. 
> 
> John's thoughts are still being clouded by Dave
> 
> John goes to see Dave and romance begins to blossom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god this has gotten a bunch of hits and kudos already, thank you guys so much. This chapter was hard as fuck to do, I had it all typed out then my computer deleted it so yeah that was very angering but yeah whatever. Thank you for reading again! (By the way i apologize again with how shitty I am at summaries)

It's been a day since you've met Dave and Jake got his tattoo(s?) from Dirk. They are currently on a date to the movies and you're sitting in your bed on Tumblr, blogging about stupid shit and eating leftover pizza from the other night. You sigh a bit, you haven't been able to get your mind entirely off of Dave, he's just really cute and he seemed pretty cool. You regret not asking for his number or anything, bluh.   
  
Once you finish up your pizza, you go to your kitchen and throw out your paper plate, as you wash off your hands. You hear Jake's laugh coming from his apartment next door and you smile a bit, finishing up as you walk out of your apartment and to Jake's front door, knocking at it lightly.   
  
After a few moments, the door is opened up and instead of emerald eyes, you're greeted to a pair of triangular shades, you back up a bit as you look up a Dirk.   
  
"Oh, uh.. Hey Dirk. I thought the date was over, uh sorry." You bite your lip nervously as Jake walks up behind Dirk.   
  
"Well it kinda is over, we're just chilling now so don't sweat it." Dirk walks back to the couch and Jake holds the door open as you walk in and sit at the opposite end.   
  
"Well then... How was the movie?" You ask, looking up at Jake as he shuts the door and walks over, sitting between the two of you.   
  
"I enjoyed the movie, as did Dirk. By the way, we're planning on going on a date at Red Robin next Friday." Jake bites his lip a little. He looks like he feels bad and you shake your head a little.   
  
"Oh okay. Sounds fine to me, I think I'm gonna go see Dave anyway so it's cool." You shrug a little and Dirk looks over at you again, a small smirk on his face.   
  
"You're into my bro too? Wow nice, he scored." You can almost feel his eyes scanning over you as he nods a bit in approval, the blush on your face is apparant as you clear your throat.   
  
"U-um anyway, it's cool." You say, Jake giggles a bit.   
  
  
After about an hour of you 3 talking and such, you look at the clock to see that it's 8 and you have classes tomorrow, so you leave and Jake walks you out, at the door you talk for a few moments. 

"Okay well i guess I'll probably see you tomorrow. I really like him, Jake. You picked a good one." You wink, laughing softly and Jake nods a little.   
  
"Heh well thank you, John. Dave is a fine guy too, pretty funny. I hope all goes well with you two if i don't see you until Friday." Jake grins a bit and you nod, thanking him and after that, you walk back to your place.   
  
Once you're inside, you walk to your room and pull off your shirt and jeans off before you plop down on your bed and mess around on your phone for a bit. You set your alarm for 7 in the morning and then shut it off, setting it on your nightstand alongside your glasses.   
  
When your head hits your pillow and your eyes slip shut, you almost immediately fall asleep.   
  
In the morning, you wake up on time and pull on some jeans as well as a nirvana sweater. After you manage a comb through your hair, you clean up your piercing again and go out to your kitchen.   
  
Once you finish up your breakfast, you walk out to your car and drive on your way to your university. You get to school at 7:45 and walk into your class with 5 minutes to spare.  
  
Your courses this year are chemistry, physics, and psychology and your classes are weekday ones. They usually run until around 2 and then you go to work at the local cafe, which you like to work at because it's quiet enough to study at on breaks or when it's not too busy and you get free coffee too. You usually work until 8 or 9, depending on who's there or if you need a little more cash.   
  
  
At the end of the week, you get home and immediately plop down on your couch, sighing and relaxing for the first time today. You had a chemistry quiz and a test in psychology, then since it's a Friday, the cafe was a bit more busy than normal. The week wasn't bad at all ,you're just really thankful that it's over.   
  
After about an hour of sitting around and watching Adventure Time, you get up and go to your room to change into some fresh clothes, once you're all ready and everything, you walk out to your car again and begin to drive towards Precision Ink.   
  
You pull into an available parking space and sigh once you pull the keys out of the ignition and slowly get out, putting your keys in your front pocket as you look up at the sign and shut the car door. 

_This is a stupid idea. What if he isn't here? What if he's busy? What if he gets creeped out?_

You sigh to yourself as questions keep springing up in your mind, you bite your lip and shrug as you decide,  _fuck it_ , and step inside the building and walk up to the reception counter desk thing where someone, not Dave, is. Fuck.   
  
This guy has the same blonde hair as Dirk and Dave, but he seems a bit taller and more built, he's also definitely older than both of them. He's wearing a white collared shirt  and some black baseball cap but on his right arm you can see [a tattoo ](2.bp.blogspot.com/-1PHsmy4CWho/TWWteuw2NqI/AAAAAAAAAAk/3NJpX5RVhp4/s1600/tribal-tattoo1.jpg)that goes all the way up it and you presume there's even more on his shoulder and such, he also has plugs and his right eyebrow is pierced. You bite your lip a bit and he looks up at you, welcoming you to the shop and asking what you need.   
  
"Uh, thanks. Sorry but is Dave here or busy..?" You notice that he smiles a bit and nods, pointing behind him to a door in the back that's opened up and you nod a little, thanking him as you walk up to it and peer inside to see Dave sitting at a desk with a laptop in front of him and a drawing tablet hooked up to it, you glance at the screen and you think it's a dragon. You step inside and clear your throat a little, keeping close to the door as Dave's head turns to you and he shuts his laptop halfway.   
  
"John? Oh wow, hey." He stands up and smiles a little, stepping up to you.   
  
"Hey.. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" You bite your lip a little and he shakes his head.   
  
"Nah, just drawing out something a client wants me to do on him. So what are you doing here?" He raises a brow, moving his hands into his pockets.   
  
"Oh, I wanted to know if you wanted to uh.. ask you if you'd wanna hang out sometime?" You bite your lip nervously. Damn it you should of planned this out beforehand.   
  
"Hang out as in friends chilling or hang out as in a date?" Dave's face seems to not change much, clearly he's not as nervous as you or he knows how to mask feelings well.   
  
"Well I mean like I don't really mind, if you want it to be the first on then I'm chill with that but like I kinda sorta meant the second.." Your voice felt like it was slowly fading and your heart kind of started to pound a little but then it feels like it stops when you see Dave smile a little more at you.   
  
"Yeah, I'd like to go on a date with you. uh, did you wanna do it now? because that client should be here soon and it could take like two hours, maybe less if he'd be cool with me just doing the outlining today." He sighs a little and you nod quickly.   
  
"Oh that's fine! I don't have any other plans tonight or we can do it tomorrow. I don't really mind either." You look at his sunglasses-why does he wear those indoors and while drawing on top of too, weird- your eyes wide with hope.   
  
"Yeah, i don't have any plans today either. So uh, here." He turns around and gets a pen then faces you and takes your hand in his left hand then proceeds to write his number down, you notice that on his left wrist there's [a tattoo](media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/aa/6d/12/aa6d1232288c56cdc34e51ad099170a0.jpg) on it too. You blush a bit and once he's finished, you pull your hand back and smile a bit more at him as he begins to speak again.   
  
"We can meet up at Starbucks, I'm gonna guess that I'll be finished in about an hour and a half so uh, yeah I'll see you there?" He bites his lip and you nod again, grinning a bit.   
  
"Yeah, of course! heh, I'll see you there." He smiles at you and nods, then you turn and he walks you out. You wave goodbye before walking over to your car and getting in.   
  
You drive back to your apartment and basically freak out about what to wear for a half an hour, deciding on dark blue distressed skinny jeans and a white T-shirt with a red and black flannel over it and black converse. You sigh and look at your hair in your mirror before pulling a dark gray beanie on over it and you adjust your glasses as you step back and look at yourself, nodding a bit in approval.   
  
After another hour of sitting at your couch playing Animal Crossing on your DS,  you get up and walk back out to your car, texting Dave's number along the way.  
   
                                                            "hey dave! it's john, i'm on my way to starbucks now. i'll see you in a few i guess. :)"  
  
You get in your car and blast your iPhone's playlist on the way, getting at the Starbucks about 5 minutes later.  
  
You park and get out and you check your phone as you walk inside and order a caramel macchiato, once you get it, you sit down at one of the two person tables (off to the side but still visible to people that would come in, so Dave would be able to see you) and you begin to carefully sip your drink.   
  
It's been about 45 minutes since you came in and you've finally gotten a text from Dave. Relieved, you read it.   
  
               "shit hey john im sorry about that,  the guy wanted me to get most of the tattoo done so i took longer, im on my way now and i should be there soon"   
  
You respond with an "it's cool! see you." and set your phone down again as you wait for Dave, throwing away your empty cup.  
  
After about 5 minutes, you see Dave walk in, wearing a black button up with short sleeves and dark blue skinny jeans, he sees you and walks straight to you, sitting down at the chair across from you and you smile brightly at him.   
  
"I'm sorry again, thanks so much for waiting on me." He sighs softly and you nod a bit, sitting up a little more.  
  
"It's fine, really. I didn't have much to do and i totally understand." You smile a little at him and he returns it, ordering a mocha frappe and coffee cake when one of the workers come by.    
  
"Damn I'm glad it's the weekend dude." He sighs, looking at you as he rests his head on his left hand, propped up by his elbow.   
  
"Heh, you could definitely say that again. I'm all worn out, gotta recharge and all that." You nod in agreement.   
  
"Yeah dude. So, I hear from your cousin that you're still in college." He sips his drink when it comes and puts the cake between you 2, handing you one of the forks the worker gave him. You take it and nod.   
  
"Mhm,I graduate next year." It's so like Jake to talk about you to Dave, wow. You take a small corner out of the cake and carefully bring it to your lips, eating the piece and humming in appreciation.   
  
"Do you know what you wanna be yet?" He eats a bit of a bigger bite than you do, chewing as he watches you.   
  
"Yep, I've got my goals set on being a children's and teen's counselor." You smile a bit at him and continue to slowly eat some of the cake.   
  
"Oh wow, well that's pretty cool man. I graduated last year. Double majored in art and photography." He shrugs a little.   
  
"Well that's cool. From what I've seen, you did pretty good."  
  
You grin a bit at him and you both continue talking and eating, when he finishes up the cake and his drink, he throws the trash away and you guys sit there and talk for about 20 more minutes, when the sun begins to set and the store is edging closer to closing time, you both stand up and walk out.   
  
"I had a really nice time, Dave. Hopefully we can do something like this again?" You bite your lip a little as you look at him and he grins, nodding.   
  
"Yeah totally, I'd love that. Next time I'll for sure be on time." You laugh softly and nod a little.   
  
"Okay good.. So uh, I'll text you later?" You quirk a brow and he nods.   
  
"Definitely, text you later." He walks to his truck and waves at you as he gets in, you wave back and walk up to your own car and get in before starting it.   
  
You grin to yourself the whole way home and once you pull in the parking lot, you walk up and go into your apartment. You spend a few hours blogging then you go to bed, Dave in your thoughts as you close your eyes and drift asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the read! hope you enjoyed this, comments and kudos are always appreciated here.
> 
> That receptionist dude was bro btw, if it wasn't clear or anything.   
> Also, the links aren't working, you gotta delete like the first bits of the URL to see. sorry!
> 
> By the way, my Tumblr is kortneyhasswag if you wanted to ask me something on there or follow me.


	3. The First Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Dave haven't talked all week because they're both nervous babies. 
> 
> Meanwhile Dirk and Jake are officially boyfriends now. 
> 
> John sees Dave at the cafe and another date happens.

It's the Friday after your date with Dave and you haven't talked to him all week.   
  
You'd like to say it's because you've been so busy... But it's not the truth. You're really nervous to talk to him, he was really nice and funny and all that and you're worried he might think you're weird or some shit. Ugh, why does everything have to be so hard? 

This whole week seemed to drag by slowly, the highlight of your week was an old woman leaving you a 20 buck tip because she didn't have any smaller bills and apparently you deserved it, not that you're complaining.   


It's 5 o'clock right now, which means you're off in 3 hours and you can just go home and sleep or something, you haven't been able to do a lot of that all week either. Jake and Dirk are on another date here and you're currently serving them their coffee, giving you an excuse to take a small break and talk to them a little.   
  
"Thank you, John. So you never told me how it went with Dave on Friday." Jake smiled and cocked an eyebrow up at you at he carefully drank from his coffee cup. Dirk looked up at you too as he into his panini and you beamed a little at the thought, smiling a bit.   
  
"Oh yeah, heh. I had a great time. We went to Starbucks and talked for a while, we're gonna go on another date eventually... I just haven't really texted him since." You bite a little at your lip and Jake clicks his teeth at you.   


"John come on, you've gotta ask him or else there won't be a second date!" You nod a little and shrug.   
  
"I'll talk to him eventually. I swear." Jake nods a little in response, stirring some Splenda into his coffee.

"Well now's your chance, dude." Dirk nods in a direction behind you and you turn a little to see Dave sitting at one of the two person booths, facing some girl you've never met bef-  _wait -_ you do know her. It's Rose, a girl you've talked to a few times, she's in your psychology class and you guys hang out at the library there sometimes. (She lives in a dorm with Jade, your other cousin) she's pretty funny and kinda sarcastic, kinda makes sense that Dave would be her friend.   
  
You look at Jake, who pushes you away a bit so you can go talk to them before someone else comes and you smile a little as you nod and nudge him back quickly before walking over to them and clearing your throat as they both look up at you and you take out your notepad and greet them both.   
  
"John? Oh wow i din't know you work here. Uh, this is-" Rose cuts him off as you grin just a little at him.   
  
"John knows who I am, We've met at school." Dave nods a little and looks from her back up to you.   
  
"Oh, cool. Well I think I'm gonna get a grilled cheese and some apple juice." You smile a little and nod as you write his order down.   
  
"And I'll have a cup of plain black coffee." Once you have it all written down you look up at them again.   
  
"Alright that should be out in probably five minutes... I didn't know you guys were friends." You look at Rose then at Dave.   
  
"Hah, I wish. We're step-siblings. And I didn't know you'd chill with snarky bitches like R-ah, fuck." You hear the thud of Dave being kicked on his leg and he glares over at Rose, making you giggle.  
  
"Yes, Dave is my loving, half brother. I wasn't aware that it was  _this_ John that you went on a date with, Dave." You bite your lip a little, still smiling as Dave rolls his eyes at her.   
  
"Oh, he talked about me?" You glance at Dave who's face turns a little pink.   
  
"Indeed he did, excessively." You hear Dave attempt to kick Rose's leg only to have her dodge it and you laugh.   
  
"Well good to know I'm not the only one still interested. I'll talk to you guys in a few." You grin and wink at Dave before walking off to the kitchen and getting the coffee and juice and by the time the coffee is ready, so is the grilled cheese. After a few minutes, you walk back out and set down their stuff in front of them and smile before going off to help other customers.   
  
When Jake and Dirk leave, it's been about an hour since Dave and Rose came in and there's only one other person in the cafe now, some girl seemingly studying up for something. You grin as you walk up to the 2 who are talking but then they stop when you're beside the table.   
  
"So guys, do you need anything else?" You smile a bit more, your eyes switching from Rose to Dave.   
  
"Not that I know of. I actually have to go now, plans with Jade." Rose winks at Dave and walks out after waving a goodbye to you and you look around before taking her seat and looking at Dave.

"I take it she made that up and you want to say something to me, or am I wrong?" You smile a little and Dave laughs in response, crossing his arms and leaning them on the table as he looks at you.   
  
"Yep, pretty much... I'm sorry I didn't call for the last week, I was just kind of busy and I didn't really know what to say that wouldn't be awkward." He bites his lip a little and you smile.   
  
"Heh, it's cool. That's basically why i didn't text you either. Do you still wanna go on that second date?" You sigh in a bit of relief as you look at Dave's sunglasses.   
  
"Hell yeah I do. I'm so tired I think I'm just gonna go home and sleep after this but I'm not busy tomorrow?" He raises a brow in question to his offer and you nod quickly at him, grinning. 

"I'm not busy at all tomorrow. Let's do lunch, so uh noon. Where at?"   
  
"Okay sounds awesome man. Hmm, what about Outback?"   
  
"Outback is fine with me." You nod again and he smiles again at you.   
  
"Alright then, cool. So uh, I'll see you at noon tomorrow." He stands up and you do too.   
  
"Yeah totally. See you." You smile a little and he nods a bit, returning the smile. He walks out and you sigh happily.   
  
After another hour of cleaning, your boss lets you off an hour early and you drive back to the apartment complex. When you walk to your door, you see Dirk saying goodbye to Jake and you see them share a little kiss, you smile a bit and go into your place, they're cute.   
  
You order some Chinese food and once you finish up, it's 8:45 and you have some work to do for chemistry and psychology, so you go into your office type room (it has a desk and your laptop in it, does that count as an office?) and do work for about an hour and a half then you go to bed, dreaming sweet dreams and thinking about your date that's planned for tomorrow.   
  
  
In the morning you wake up at 10. Damn, about 12 hours of sleep. You needed that.  
  
You get up and go to the bathroom, taking a nice long warm shower then you dry yourself off and blow dry your hair (which, thankfully, is being manageable) then you put on your glasses and go to your room, putting on a dark blue sweater, you push the sleeves up a bit and then put on some some white jeans then your converse. After you're all ready, you check the clock. It's almost 11 now so you have another hour.   


You go to Jake's apartment and he lets you in and you two sit at his couch and talk for a bit.   
  
"So, I'm going on a date with Dave in about an hour." You smile at him and lean back a bit on the arm of his couch.  
  
"Oh wow good job John, I didn't think you'd actually gain the courage." You nudge his side with your foot and roll your eyes, Jake laughs softly.  
  
"Shut up dude, so anyway. I saw that kiss with Dirk last night, cute." You smirk at Jake and he grins, nodding a little at you.   
  
"You saw that? Hah wow. Well thanks John. We're an official thing now too." He almost beams at that and you widen your eyes a bit, grinning.  
  
"Oh wow dude. Congrats on that." You and Jake talk for about 45 minutes about a variety of things and then you look over at the clock and it reads 11:55.   
  
You leave and Jake wishes you luck, you leave his apartment and go down the stairwell.   
  
Once you walk out to the parking lot you see Dave's truck and you're grinning as you walk up to Dave, when he looks up at you he smiles a bit and then you get inside before he starts the car and drives off.  
  
"I didn't know you were gonna pick me up, heh." You bite your lip a little as you look out the window.  
  
"Well Dirk was at the tattoo place and our other brother took his car and Dirk made plans with Jake today so i dropped him off and shit. I just stayed here because I figured you were probably coming out around now." He shrugs a little and you nod.  
  
"Oh, okay. Well thanks." You grin at him.  
  
When you 2 get to Outback, he parks and then you both walk inside. The hostess leads both of you to a booth towards the back that's kinda away from the bar, which you're glad about so that you will be able to hear him and stuff. You both sit and take the menu, looking through it.   
  
"So what do you think you're gonna get?" He looks up at you as he shuts his menu.   
  
"I think I'm going to go with the coconut shrimp. What about you?" You shut yours as well and look up at him with a smile. He's wearing those sunglasses again, you guess that he might have sensitive eyes or something.   
  
"The steak and mashed potatoes here are the bomb, so I'm getting that." He smiles a little at you and you grin back, resting your chin on your right hand, propped up by your elbow.   
  
"Nice. So, how's our day been so far?" You and him talk about your mornings and order your drinks, you get a coke and he gets apple juice again, weird but whatever.   
  
When the food comes, you both eat and continue to talk, he makes you laugh pretty hard a few times. By the end of your meal, you two are both chuckling about some lame joke you crack.   
  
"You know, you're pretty funny John. I like you." He grins and takes a sip of his third glass of apple juice.   
  
"Well thanks, Dave. I think you're funny too." You giggle a bit and he smiles at you.   
  
"Mhm. So I'll be sure to text you, now that i know we're both extremely awkward." He smiles and the check comes, you go to reach for it but he swipes it away too quick for you and you pout a little at him.   
  
"No, I insist I pay." He moves his index finger from side to side then pulls out his wallet, dropping the cash in the checkbook then he sets it to the side and looks up at you again with a smile.   
  
"Ugh, alright fine. But next time, I pay. No exceptions." You nod at him and he laughs softly, nodding back.   
  
"Okay, deal." You both smile and then stand up, walking back out to his truck and you both get in, buckling up as he turns the car back on and pumps the radio's volume up a bit.   
  
The drive is fun, he swerves jokingly a few times and you giggle a lot, smiling over at him which he does to you as well.    
  
When he pulls in front of your apartment, you frown a little but then he gets out with you, deciding to walk you up to your door and you grin, walking up the stairs with him in the direction of your apartment, making the excuse of "you've never been here so i'll show you where to go" to hold his hand along the way, when you get to your door, you pull out your keys and face him, not letting go of his hand just yet. You look up at his sunglasses, he's a few inches taller than you. You bite your lip a bit.   
  
"So uh, this is my place.." He smiles a bit at you and squeezes your hand lightly before he leans in and presses a light kiss to your lips.   
  
"I'll text you in a bit, Egbert." You feel your heart beating out of your chest as he smirks and slowly leans back then walks back to the stairs.  
  
 _Holy. Shit. Did that just happen? Am i dreaming? Oh my fucking god._  
  
You close your mouth (that you didn't notice that you opened in the first place) and turn to your door, fumbling with your keys before unlocking and opening your door, letting yourself inside then you shut the door and lean on it, you can't stop grinning.   
  
You spend the rest of the day finishing up the work from last night and surfing the web. When you get tired, you plop down on your bed and after a couple of minutes you hear your phone vibrate on your nightstand, you take it and look at the new text you receive... From Dave.

"hey john, i had a really nice time today and i cant wait for our next date, sleep well man B)"

You shut your phone off and grin as you shut your eyes and slowly drift asleep, thinking the happiest (and cutest) thoughts of you and dave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about you guys but I died making that kissing part and i don't even know why. JohnDave is my otp. gahhhh they're so cute. I'm planning for the next chapter to have some nsfw in it, so stay tuned for that ;)  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. The First... Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John and Dave talk, Dave comes over and things lead to other things.. ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first nsfw chapter so yeah. Thanks for reading!

You wake up at 9:30 the next morning and smile a bit to yourself at the thought of last night. You pull yourself out of bed and check your phone again after placing your glasses up on the bridge of your nose then you reread Dave's text from last night and grin a bit, typing out a text to send to him.   
  
"hey dave! i had a great time last night too. can't wait to see you again. :B"   
   
Once it's sent, you set the phone down and pull on some sweat pants from your drawer then stand up, walking out with your phone to the kitchen, not bothering with a shirt. You walk in and open up the cabinet, pulling out a Pop Tart package out and then you open it and put the two pieces in your toaster as you hear your phone vibrate against the counter top. You step over and read Dave's response.   
  
_"me either, good to know there will be an again"_  
  
You grin and continue the conversation, leaning on the counter a little, your back facing the toaster.   
  
"there definitely will. hehe, so what are you up to?"  
  
_"eh not much, i don't usually work on saturdays so im at home chilling, you?"_  
  
"oh cool! i don't work on the weekends so i'm just kinda sitting around at my place since jake's at work and everything."  
  
_"mm, sounds almost as boring as my situation"_  
  
"it's more boring." __  


_"yeah right"_  
  
"yeah, i'm right."   
  
_"haha, okay egderp sure"_    
  
"egderp? ew, no."   
  
_"you don't like it? damn, i thought it was clever"_  
  
"it's lame. like you."  
  
_"gasp"_  
  
"how dare you, egnerd, im so offended"   
  
"well i'm more offended. and i'm not a nerd!"  
  
_"im not lame"_  
  
"bluh. whatever you say, stridork."  
  
_"alright egbabe, i can do the puns with your name but you_ _cant"_

"yes i can! i just did, so hah."   
  
You flinch as the Pop Tarts pop out of the toaster and you set down your phone, putting the hot tarts on a paper plate as your phone vibrates and you take the plate and your phone, walking over and sitting at your two person kitchen table. You read your texts as you bite into the first Pop Tart.  
  
_"wow john, wow"_

 _"ill have you know that im the coolest as well as the hottest person to walk this planet"_  
  
"hehe, oh really?"   
  
_"really"_  
  
"i guess you'll just have to prove it."  
  
_"oh damn, how do you expect me to do that? B)"_  
  
"wait, that came out more flirty/dirty than i intended!"   
  
_"oh sure it did egbabe, sure"_  
  
"ughhhhh. dork."   
  
_"hey thats not how you get me to swoon, i thought that was your intentions were"_  
  
_"you fail"_  
  
"i think i already made that happen, unless you go around kissing anybody and everybody."  
  
_"i did that to make you swoon, and i succeeded so fuck you"_  
  
"if you insist. ;)"  
  
_"oh my god dude, that one was clever ill give that to you"_  
  
"hehe, thank you. i try."   
  
You giggle to yourself, your cheeks a little pink as you continue texting him. God, he's so cute.   
  
_"i bet_   _you do, nerd"_  
  
_"hey john, so i have an idea"_  
  
_"this ones a good one too, you'll love it"_  
  
"i'm listening"   
  
_"so what if i went over to your place and we watch some shitty movie and make fun of the bad acting"_  
  
_"ill let you pick the movie if that seals the deal at all"_  
  
"oooh good idea! hehe, alright deal. can we watch twilight? because that movie is such a joke."  
  
_"hell yeah"_  
  
_"twilight is perfect, ill be over there in like 10"_  
  
"sweet! see you then."   
  
You finish up your Pop Tarts and throw away the plate before walking over to the tv and turning it on, putting in Twilight. You ironically own this of course, pshh of course you didn't have twilight obsession phase, whaaaaaaaat??? Anyway, you set it all up then go over and unlock your front door in advance before looking down at your sweatpants and pale shirtless chest. Fuck.   
  
You walk over to your room and grab a black t-shirt, pulling it on quickly then you pull off your sweatpants, swapping them for some blue skinny jeans and then you go to the mirror and comb through your hair quickly but carefully for the sake of your scalp.   
  
Once you're content with your outfit and hair, you walk back out and sit at the couch, biting your lip as you wait for Dave to arrive.   
  
You hear a knock at the door after a few minutes and jump up, grinning as you go and open the door to look up and see Dave at your door, his hands in his pockets as he smiles faintly at you.   
  
"Hey John. You ready to watch shitty teen girl heart-throb acting?" He walks in and you shut the door, nodding quickly.  
  
"Hell yeah dude, it's all set up and everything." You walk with him and plop down on your couch in front of the tv, Dave sits beside you and you grin as you click play on your remote, the beginning credits start to roll and you lean slightly on Dave, he moves an arm loosely around your shoulders and you sigh contently, eyes on the screen.   
  
After a while of movie watching, you're giggling at a joke Dave made and you look over at him with a big grin. He smiles back and then he bites his lip as he looks at you and you bit yours softly as well in nervousness, he sighs and leans in a bit, pressing your lips together. You sigh happily and move a hand to Dave's cheek as you shut your eyes and kiss his lips softly and he returns it, keeping it slow but sweet and.. really nice.   
  
After a little more kissing, you feel his tongue slowly dragging across your lower lip and you hum, your arms moving to wrap around Dave's neck and you rest your arms on his shoulders as you part your lips and let your tongue move out to meet his, which ensues in a bit of a fight with tongues. You both seemed to like it judging from your soft moans that only made your blush more apparent and his hand sliding up the back of your shirt feeling over your skin after he had pulled you into his lap, you shivered a bit and got goosebumps at his little touches.   
  
You both pull back after a bit longer, you pause your hips from grinding on his- _When did you start doing that?_ -and he pulls off your shirt, looking up into your eyes from behind his sunglasses.  
  
"Could you take those off?" You bite your lip a little after you ask before he nods and hesitantly takes off the glasses, setting them aside on the nightstand before looking at you with crimson red eyes.   
  
_What the hell? he's fucking perfect oh my god i'm so god damn lucky._  
  
Your eyes go wide as you look back at Dave's red ones and your mouth was a bit opened in shock but then you shut it and lean down, kissing his lips deeply again and he smiles, you think he sighs in relief.   
  
You pull back shortly and tug off Dave's shirt and toss it aside. His other tattoos are now revealed to you and you paused for a moment to take in each one.   
  
There's some weird face on his inner left arm, looks similar to some webcomic you read for a while in high school. There's another tattoo on his outer upper right arm, it's a crow's wing that's also detailed like the feather on his right forearm. It looks like the wing had a few feathers coming off of it and the one you had seen before is a kinda big one. You really like it. His bicep has a tattoo on it as well, something in Japanese writing, _wow you didn't think he'd be basic enough to get that done._ You grin and trail your hand down his chest.  
  
Dave sighs and pushes you on your back along the couch, he then crouches over you and lets his hands lightly run down your chest and abdomen. You sigh once he gets to and unbuttons your jean's button which your erection seems to be straining against by now, he tugs the jeans down and you move your hands to undo his jeans as well, he smiles and removes both of your pants, leaving you both in just boxers.   
  
You move both your hands to cup Dave's cheeks and his hands trail down your sides as your lips join again and you shudder slightly, slipping your tongue into his mouth and he sucks at it, making you moan softly again and you hear him grunt lowly in response, his hand slips into your boxers, holding carefully onto your erection and stroking it a few times before you slip your own hand down and into his boxers to grab at his length as well, causing a small moan to slip past Dave's lips and chills seem to run down your spine at that.   
  
You sigh softly as Dave leans down, kissing up your neck before he sucks and nips occasionally... you know there will probably be some marks on your neck in the morning. You don't really care at the moment as you're so turned on it almost hurts. Dave is different, you want this--you want him more than you've ever wanted things like this from anyone you were with before.   
  
He speeds up his hand's strokes and you moan, speeding up your's as well. you moan out his name and tilt your head further back, he groans against your neck and your other arm moves around him as you arch your back to each of his touches.  
  
You already feel close after a minute or two and you're bucking your hips into his hand, he gasps and groans into your ear.   
  
"John-fuck, I'm close." You moan and nod a little, speeding up your hand more and he does the same and after a few more moments, you both are moaning a bit louder and you're seeing white as you flutter your eyes shut, the both of you climaxing and Dave and your's seed spurts out onto your chest and stomach.   
  
After a few moments, you grab your shirt and wipe up the mess then both of you pull up your boxers a bit. You're still panting softly as Dave lays on his back and you move over him, arms going around his torso as you cuddle up to him.   
  
He smiles and kisses your cheek as you grin back and nuzzle against him a bit more.   
  
You both drift asleep after a few minutes and you still smile as you're curled up against him. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be in Dave's POV so yeah.. it's also gonna have some drama in it so yeah, heh. Thanks for reading!


	5. The First Fight (more or less)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave's POV for this one. 
> 
> John and Dave make things official and Dave goes home where he and Dirk talk... and fight...

You wake up to the smell of bacon and… is it waffles?

 

You’re not really sure, since you don’t normally have that stuff for breakfast. Anyway, when you slowly open your eyes, you remember everything from last night.

 

Each loving touch and lasting kiss from John, damn that sounds hella sappy. You both fucked but not in the sense of going all the way, that’s better. 

 

You smile to yourself as you stand up, the egbert you were just thinking about isn’t on the couch so you assume he’s the one making food. Good assumption because it’s either that or burglars who only rob food and cook them in the house- okay you’re talking or, er.. Thinking way too much. 

 

You sigh and walk over to the kitchen after locating and putting on your  totally ironic shades because the morning is too damn bright not to have them on.

 

When you walk into the room you smile at the sight of john leaning on and facing his stove as he stirs around some bacon in a skillet. You walk over and carefully move your arms around his waist from behind and rest your forehead on the back of the slightly shorter boy’s head. 

 

“Oh hey, you’re up I see.” He giggles and you smile,  _every time you hear that god damn giggle you swoon._

 

“Mhmm, did you sleep well?” You question, your head still resting on John’s as he nods slightly and begins putting the bacon strips on two plates with waffles on them. 

 

“Yep. Uh, thanks for last night by the way, I hope you liked it as much as I did..” You glance over at him to see he’s chewing at that lower lip of his, adorable. 

 

“I loved it. We should do it again sometime.” You grin and He returns it, turning around once all the bacon is out to move his hands to your cheeks and peck your lips lightly before he goes and puts together both of your plates of food. 

 

He sets them down at the table and you walk over, taking a seat and eating the delicious waffles and bacon with lots of syrup over both of them because that’s just how you roll. 

 

“So… This makes us boyfriends, right?” John asks as he eats a bit slower than you from across the table, the both of you are looking at each other as you nod and swallow the food you have in your mouth. 

 

“I sure hope so. I’m not some cheap hoe, John. I’m a classy bitch” You smirk a little at him as he laughs again and you take a sip of the milk he had poured in two glasses for the both of you.

 

“Hehe, yes I’d love to be your boyfriend. And of course I know that, you better not think I’m a cheap hoe, because you better believe I am quite the opposite as well.” You laugh at him and nod.

 

“I never thought anything close to you being such.” You both laugh and continue to eat.

 

You bump you foot to his occasionally and he returns each one. By the time you both finish, you sigh and check your phone from out of your jeans that were on the floor’s pocket. It’s already 11:45 but, it’s a Sunday so you have no work. 

 

John checks the time and tells you that the only days he ever gets off are Saturdays and sometimes half of Sundays, so he has to go. 

 

You dress up in what you wore yesterday and John changes into some band t-shirt, converse, and skinny jeans.  _He looks so nice in even the simplest of styles._

 

“Okay, I’ll text you when I get off of work and stuff. have a good day.” John says as he walks out of his apartment with you and you nod. 

 

“Alright sounds like a plan babe, I’ll be at my place all day.” You smile and he grabs your collar to stop you from turning to your car, he goes on his tippy toes and kisses your lips softly. 

 

After a few seconds of a loving kiss, you both pull back and grin at him,  reaching to adjust his bangs as you speak. 

 

“Talk to you later, cutie.” You mumble through your smile. 

 

You walk over to your truck and get in before starting it and waving to him when you see him doing the same in his car. 

 

Your drive to your place is quiet, all you can think about is last night and John and how great he is and just… _God, he's so great and you're so lucky._

 

Once you arrive home, you unlock the front door of it and walk inside, dropping your keys and wallet on the little table you have next to the door.

 

You live in some kinda art studio with a bedroom in it basically, you have paint almost everywhere besides your room and kinda your bathroom. It’s not a palace but hey, who are you trying to impress? 

 

So anyway, you walk in and go straight to your work in progress room (why do you even call it that? it’s where you make any art and all the other rooms are the same but you go in this one more often you guess.) and you open up a rare empty sketchbook upon piles of filled up ones (you have no idea why you keep all of your others but you do.) 

 

You find a pencil and sit down at this big table to the left of the room and begin doodling… Which turns into sketching… And then you realize you’ve drawn about ten different pictures of John. Oh great. 

 

You shrug and continue drawing this one picture, it’s john in the outfit you last saw him in standing and writing down something in a little notebook, basically you're drawing him working you guess.

 

After you color and finish up that drawing, you hear the door open and you tense a bit but then soon your shoulders drop once you hear Dirk’s voice. 

 

“Yo little bro, you in here?” You sigh and you hear his foot steps got onwards your bedroom before you call out to him. 

 

“I’m in here, and shut up you’re only a year older than me.” You roll your eyes and he laughs, walking into the room and leaning on the side of the table as he looks down at you. 

 

“A year is still a year. What are you working on man?” he glances down at your book and you snap it shut, he smirks. 

 

“None of your business, they’re meaningless doodles, as you once told me.” You huff and stand up, walking over to the other side of the room to wash your hands in the sink, coloring with pastels makes your hands pretty messy. 

 

“I only said it because i didn’t think you’d get anything good with it. I was wrong okay, don’t cry about it man.” He rolls his eyes and crosses his arms before reaching down and opening the book, flipping through the John doodles. You decide not to stop him as you dry off your hands and turn to look at him, leaning back on the sink. 

 

“These look nice, you’re a lot better at anatomy than I am.. How was the date?” He arches a brow in question, shutting the book and walking around a little along the table as he does this thing where he starts organizing things in weird certain orders, ugh he can be so annoying and odd about things sometimes. 

 

“Thanks I guess… Yeah, I had a really really good time, I spent the night and stuff.” He nods along to your words then pauses, sighs, and looks up to you from the copic markers. 

 

“Tell me you didn’t already fuck him.” His mouth goes straight and you can’t see it, but you bet he’s making a disappointed face at you, his annoying weeaboo ass shades are in the way. You don’t say anything, you just turn around and set down the rag you were holding as he groans. 

 

“Dave. If you invest yourself too much in him too quickly, you’re just gonna end up hurting yourself and maybe even him too.” You sigh and turn to him. 

 

“Dirk I don’t wanna hear it, I’ll be fine.” You say, really not wanting to start a fight right now. 

 

“I know you wanna be with him, and he’s great, trust me dude I like the guy and thats a first with me and the people you like. But do you remember why you haven’t been with anyone recently? Do you remember how depressed you were for so god damn long, Dave? How I was the one who had to make you feel better? If you scare this one off too then I’m not gonna nurse you out of another god damn heartache.” He frowns at you. 

 

 _Oh fucking hell no. Why the hell would he bring that up right now? he always has to butt into things_. You narrow your eyes and walk up to him, frowning back. 

 

“The last time I checked, this is my fucking life, and I don’t need you to fucking waltz up in here and act like you’re some love expert because you’ve been dating someone for one day longer than I have. I can fucking take care of myself. God damn it Dirk you need to learn that my life is mine, I wouldn’t have done what I did with John if he didn’t wanna, and fucking trust me, he wanted to. So why don’t you just take your opinion and shove it right up your tight ass.” You clench your teeth, holding yourself back from either yelling or socking your brother square in the jaw. 

 

“Don’t get all pissy with me, I’m just telling you what you need to hear and you’re sitting here bitching at me because you’re beginning to realize you fucked up. So when John leaves your sorry ass, I’ll say i told you so and I’m not gonna sit there and try to make your pansy ass feel better.” You think he’s gonna say more but you don’t give a flying fuck, you step up to him and throw your fist, aiming for his cheek or nose but all you his is his hand. _Fuck, he's fast_. 

 

He proceeds to push you back by your chest and you lose footing and fall, your shades coming off as well from the force. You quickly prop yourself on your elbows as you expect for him to initiate another strife, but all you get is his loud words. 

 

“Do you fucking see what I mean, dave?! You’re acting like you’re twelve again, you’re twenty one. Pull your head out of your ass and realize that you need to start thinking about more than just yourself.  You can take care of yourself? Oh really?? Dave you can’t even cook yourself a fucking meal or deal with your own feelings, I’m sure this is probably why you’re on such a short fuse today, because you need to vent. Go to a therapist or some shit before you hurt someone. You’re setting yourself up for failure yet again and personally, I’m tired of all your issues. So don’t come to me until you’ve finally figured everything out.” 

 

Dirk sighs and you gulp as you stay on the ground and watch him as he leaves, the slam of your front door echoing through the empty studio and you sigh. 

 

_Is he right? is this gonna end up like last time?… now way, John’s different from him. You’re not gonna let it happen again… You can’t let it happen again._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm such a shitty person for the long ass pause. If you find any typos please let me know. I've been plotting this a bit more so don't worry, i really hope the added drama to this chapter makes up for the pause. Like always, thanks for the read and kudos/bookmarks/COMMENTS are loved and appreciated!


	6. The First Day Of Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John comes home from work and hangs with Jake and Dirk.
> 
> He finds out things and becomes a lil worried.
> 
> john's POV again

Today was kinda crappy in comparison to yesterday. You were pretty busy for a Sunday and people were kinda annoying, when you got out of the café it was 9:30 so you were definitely ready to relax.   
  


You sigh as you enter your apartment and then go over and tiredly plop down on your couch and pull your phone out of your pocket to shoot your new boyfriend (still fangerling about it) a text. 

 

_“hey, hope you had a nice day and i can’t wait to see you again, babe. :)”_

 

You grin to yourself before clicking off your phone because he doesn’t reply and you’re not gonna sit on your phone waiting, you’re not one of THOSE boyfriends, heh.   
  


Well anyway, you’re bored as hell so you decide to clean up a bit and change before you go over to Jake’s place because you know he’s home. 

  
You knock on his door and smile once it opens and you immediately walk in and sit down on the couch.   
  


“Hey John! Just a forewarning, I think Dirk is coming over in a bit.” Jake says as he shuts the door and walks in, sitting on the other side of the couch.   
  


“No problem dude, he’s actually pretty cool so I don’t mind… Unless you or him mind” You glance at Jake before he shakes his head.   
  


“No no, he likes you too so it’s all good.” He smiles at you and you return it, nodding at him.   
  


“Well alright then. So how were the last few days? We haven’t talked in like a weekish, at least it seems like it.” You sigh softly as you look at Jake, still smiling.   
  


“Yeah i know, they’ve been good, I went on another date with Dirk and then hung out at his place as well as the parlor for a bit. He’s very gentlemanly to me, which is different from my past boyfriends. All they did was either enjoy how polite I am or were just rude. I guess I’ve finally struck gold, heh.” He grins to himself and you smile warmly at him. 

 

“Aww, that’s so cute, Jake. Yeah, I feel pretty lucky too dude. Dave and i have really hit it off and stuff, we had another date and then a sleepover.” You smile and ignore the slight pink tint that appears on your cheeks. 

 

“Oh wow that’s awesome John! I’m so happy for you. And it’s all thanks to me.” He grins proudly and you quirk a brow at him. 

 

“How is it all thanks to you?”   
  


“Because I was the one who wanted a tattoo, so I was the whole reason you met Dave, therefore I set you two up and now you’re all happy and you’re getting out of the house more. Seriously though John, what happened to that extrovert John Egbert I once knew?” He questions as he raises a brow at you but you just shrug in response.

“I dunno, feelings suck and you know what happened and i changed so much..” You sigh and then he nods knowingly, sighing in return. 

 

“Well all that’s behind you and now you’ve got a good guy that i believe you can trust.” He smiles, patting your shoulder and as if on que, Dirk comes in through the front door, shutting it behind him.   
  


“Hey Jake, John.” He nods and smiles softly before toeing off his shoes and walking over and plopping down between you two.   
  


You both say hey and he sits back, looking kinda distressed and tired. 

“… You alright Dirk? You don’t look very happy right now..” You  bite you lip as you ask him and he shrugs, sighing again. Jake furrows his brows, exchanges a look with you, then looks at Dirk again.   
  


“What is it babe?” He asks and Dirk smiles faintly before dropping it again and looking over at Jake.   
  


“I just got in a bit of a fight with… Someone, and I’m still kinda pissed about it as well as kinda down about it.” He sighs again and reaches up under his shades to rub at his eyes a bit. You noticed that when he had paused and said someone he glanced at you… Dirk didn’t get in a fight with you though, obviously, so what does that even mean?   
  


“Aw that sucks, well I’ll help you calm down and such, I’d hate to see you so stressed out.” Jake says and nibbles at his lower lip as his hand moves to hold onto Dirk’s.   
  


“… But who was it that you got in the fight with?.. If you don’t mind my asking.” You ask nervously, you don’t wanna over step any boundaries or anything, you’re just curious now. And you assume Jake is too as he nods and leans in slightly, his emerald eyes trained on Dirk’s face. He sighs, looking forward.

  
“It was just some dumb fight with Dave, he’s being stupid again and every time I try to tell him, he flips shit and acts like a baby.” He rolls his eyes and you furrow your brows a little. _Him being childish doesn't really seem like him... what's going on?_

  
“Oh… well I texted him earlier but I didn’t get a reply, I was with him this morning though… Is he okay?” You ask, only making your nervousness slightly obvious as you ask and he shakes his head a little.   
  


“Nah, I couldn’t have hurt him. At least physically, and if I did emotionally then he needed it because he needs to pull his stupid head out of his stupid ass.” He huffs and rolls his eyes, Jake almost giggles at how funny he sounds as he’s angry. 

  
“Well maybe he’s just asleep, I mean right now is a kinda normal sleeping hour, right?” You ask him as you still bite at your lip. 

  
“Heh, yeah… Dave the insomniac is sleeping is all. Don’t worry about it.” He smiles softly and Jake slaps Dirks arm lightly.   
  
  
“Don’t be sarcastic, Dirk.” Jake rolls his eyes and Dirk shakes his head, grinning a bit over at Jake. 

  
“I’m not! Okay maybe a little. I’m sorry John.” He smiles at you and you gulp a little, shrugging it off and laughing softly. 

  
The three of you spend some more time together, talking about various things but you can’t really get your mind off of Dave and stuff, so you just excuse yourself and go off to your apartment. 

  
Once you get there, you go to your room and check your phone. No new messages. You just sigh and shut off the lights, close your bedroom door and strip down to your boxers. 

  
The second your head hits your pillow, your eyes shut and within a few minutes, you’re asleep and dreaming even though you’re still worried for dave for some odd reason… _You hope he’s okay like Dirk and Jake claim he is._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made this so quickly to show how sorry i was for the pause. does anyone forgive me?


	7. The First Drunk Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John gets drunk and does a few regretful things.

Over the week, you’ve sent the following texts to dave: 

 

Monday:

8:09 P.M. “hey dave! uh, i heard you got in a fight with dirk and wanted to know if you were okay?” 

 

Tuesday:

8:34 P.M. “work was so boring today, i wanted to know if you wanted to go on another date on saturday?” 

8:40 P.M. "btw i don’t know what days you work so sorry if you do work that day… and if you were at work for the last few texts i’ve sent you.” 

 

Wednesday:

9:10 P.M. “oh god i bet i’m being so annoying but i’m getting kinda worried about you. sorry.” 

9:11 P.M. “and goodnight, hope you’re sleeping well and having a good day.”

 

Thursday:

9:45 P.M. “… you know i can see that you’ve read all these messages almost directly after they send, right? i hope i don’t sound obsessed with you or anything, i'm just.. worried i guess.” 

 

Friday/Today: 

8:37 P.M. “look i know i’m probably pestering you, but i’m getting kinda worried with how you aren’t texting me back... are you okay?”

8:40 P.M. ”i’m sorry if i said something wrong.. or like, scared you off. i didn’t mean to.” 

 

You don’t even know what you did wrong but Dave is literally ignoring you now, you haven’t seen dirk all week nor have you been up to going out of your way to see him (or anyone) so you don’t know if Dave’s been seen at all or not. 

 

You sigh and look down at your phone, the seemingly hopeless dream of Dave’s red text showing up any second still remains in your head. _Why do you even try at this point?_   _why does he hate you?_   _You probably did something and fucked up everything._   _God fucking damn it!_

 

You sigh, trying to calm yourself down, you really don’t think you can handle a panic attack right now. Maybe you should just go to Jake’s place and ask about Dave.. 

 

You slowly walk out of your room and apartment in sweatpants and a big t-shirt, _it's Jake's place, who cares what you're wearing?_  But when you knock at the door, there’s no answer, and when you try the door knob it’s locked. _Jake isn't home. Oh great_. If he were home, the door would be unlocked or at least he would be up. 

 

You just sigh again and walk back into your place, locking both of the locks on the door before you walk over into the kitchen and pull out two bottles (one only half full) of the flavored vodka you like and you sit at the table, opening up your laptop and logging onto Tumblr. _This is gonna be a long night, let's just try and make things a little better._   

 

You think that before taking a (rather large) swig of the vodka straight from the bottle, you really don’t care at this point. you just scroll through your dashboard, blogging to your heart’s desire and taking swigs of vodka every once in a while, there’s a slight sting in your throat by the time you reach the bottom of the bottle and your words are already slurred as well as your balance is off. 

 

You throw away the empty bottle and check your phone that you had left on the counter. _oh, will you look at that! n_ _o messages, that's the summary of my week._

 

You bring your phone with you as well as a drink of one part sprite and one part unflavored vodka as you sit back down at your computer and keep blogging mindlessly.

 

By around one in the morning, you’re drunk as all hell. You may have been crying a little as you reminisce of terrible things in your life. And it’s when you’re crying on the floor of your kitchen, you pull out your cellphone and dial Dave’s number. 

 

After what feels like forever, you hear the familiar voice of an operator telling you Dave’s number is not available and to leave a message. _Alright I'll leave a message, but only because you asked me to, nice operating machine lady._

 

And then, you leave a message.

 

“Heeey Dave… It’s me John, did you expect me? I bet you did! Because I… I have been worried about you, but I dunno if you have been worried about me, maybe it’s because like, I fucked up or something, or because all I did was message you n shit, sorrrrryy. I know I’m annoying, I should of taken a himt, himt… hint, yeah. I mean like I’ve been cheated on an’ fucked over before, my heart is like… it’s like a tiny lil piece of heart and all I did was give more an more of it away and now… I think I like gave you my last piece dave, And it was like the biggest piece I had dude, because like I mean, we did some stuff together and shit… ohhhhhh myyy goooood, Dave?? Dave. Did you just have sex with me because sex is great, an then you stopped talking to me? is.. is that waht happened? I’m srory man, this guy that I was like in LOVE with cheated on me, the whole time i thought he was dating me.. He lied to me for two years Dave, two years! Ohmygooodd that fucked me up so bad, you have noideaaa, and then like i didn’ wanna date anymore but the ni saw you and was all like shit yes pls, and i thought you were too but… I guess you weren’t like that so, uh.. I’m sorry. Oh shit there’s beeps I think that means I’m taking too long so uhhhh, yeah I’ll T-T-Y-L! hehe” 

 

You hang up, drink some more and cry even more. You call again and this time it goes straight to voicemail, making your eyes well up immediately. You sniffle after you hear the beep to start talking before saying with a choked up and slurred voice.

 

“Dave… Did i do something to upset you? like… Like have I offended you some how?… Are you ashamed of me man? ‘Cause I mean, if I have then I’m sorry.. ‘Cause I was really hoping… I mean… I kinda thought… I think I love you dave, and with how you’re acting… I’m not sure if you feel the same feels that I think I’m feelin’…” You sob softly, sniffling and wiping your drippily nose off on your arm. 

 

“I-I’m sorry Dave, if i caused you troubles.. I didn’t m-mean to do it I… I swear… If you don’t like me anymore, and that I was jus' a one night stand to you, could you like, like tell me? ‘Cause I need to know if I should still say I got a bf.. and if i should keep a date in my insta bio an shit… I need ta know Dave… I fucked up again.” Another sniffle. 

 

“I always find a way ta fuck up things that I.. really care about.. Don’t I?.. I’ll leave you alone now Davey, love yah.. Bye bye.” 

 

You hang up and pass out on your kitchen floor, a sobbing, drunk,  mess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my goal was to hurt you all right in the feels, did it work?


	8. The Horrible Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave's POV again
> 
> Dave is a bad boyfriend but he's guilty and he thinks over things

You, Dave Strider, are a terrible boyfriend.   
  
Dirk may be an asshole... But you also kinda think he had a point. John is so great and nice and sweet and just amazing, he doesn't need you. You're so not good enough for him, it's not fair for him to stick around with someone like you.   
  
You're gonna stop this before John get's too into you or anything, it's just what's best for him.   
  
You're interrupted from a rough sketch of a commission someone paid you to draw by a vibration of your phone, you look over and sigh as you see John's name above the message.   
  
_"hey, hope you had a nice day and i can't wait to see you again, babe. :)"_  
  
You bite your lip a little, your heart flutters as your eyes pause on that last word, "babe." You shouldn't have done it, you should have stuck with your original plans last night, school. You're fucked, aren't you?   
  
You click your phone off and sigh as you get up, walking around your now dark studio. What is it now, 9:50? You're tired as all hell but also hungry. You walk over into your makeshift kitchen (A microwave and mini fridge on some counter with a small sink attached into it along with two cabinets on the wall above it.) You pull out a top ramen pack and a bowl, putting some water in the bowl with the noodles pack, then you microwave it. You tap your hands rhythmically on the sink as you hum some dumb harmony that would match the beat as you await.   
  
You make the ramen and eat it, not really caring about how god damn hot it is before you go off into your room and up to your turntables. You sit down in front them and lay down a fresh record, you smile to yourself as you begin to mix up a few beats and use your humming harmony for violins.  
  
You love music so much, laying down all the right tracks for it to turn into one amazing creation, and how just one small change can affect a song so greatly. No matter what anyone tells you, you will always believe that music is a science, a great and beautiful science.   
  
Once you have the majority of the song already edited to your liking, you glance back at your alarm clock. It's already one in the morning, you get so caught up and immersed in the music you lose track of time sometimes, tomorrow you have work and then school so it's off to bed for you.   
  
After shutting off everything still running in the house, you go over and plop into bed. You sigh to yourself as you think.   
  
_John doesn't need you... He deserves better than what you are and what you have, you gotta stop while you still can.._  
  
You sigh and slip into a light and uneven sleep.  
  
  
  
  
The next day, you actually woke up on time. You clean up a little then slip your iPhone in your pocket before making your way out of the studio and into your car. You drive over to your university, only a five minute drive but you hate walking so you drive anyway. When you get to school, it's ten o'clock on the dot and you have about five minutes to get to graphic designing class. Then it's photography/filmography class, and lastly is animation class (your favorite.)   
  
You actually really like college, it's a good change from high school and since you go to a mostly arts school almost everyone there is really cool and nice and just overall better. You had to turn in some landscaping pictures you took over the weekend as well as begin a thirty second clip project in animation that you're pretty excited about. Graphic design had nothing that interesting assigned so yeah, the teachers kind of a hardass anyway.   
  
You're still glad when you leave school and drive over to Precision Ink again, you have two appointments today and then three consultations. You'll probably have some walk-ins today too but that's normal so you don't really care.  
  
  
Work was fine, you got paid money and everything and you and Dirk are not on speaking terms at the moment apparently. Bro thinks you both are being stupid and childish but what does he know? He's like... old, and still watches kid's cartoons and acts twelve all the time (well, maybe not all the time but still.) What Dirk doesn't know is that two can play at that game, and you don't even want to talk to him anyway so it doesn't even matter.   
  
You sigh, walking back into your studio. You set your keys down, followed by your shades and you kick off your shoes and socks. You walk over into our room and sit at the turntables spinny chair as you take out your phone and begin scrolling through your Instagram... before you get another text from John.  
  
_"hey dave! uh, i heard you got in a fight with dirk and i wanted to know if you were okay?"_  
  
You just sigh and clock your power button, plugging your phone into the turntable speakers then you put on a playlist. You set the volume just above "too loud to think" but also a little bit below "noise complaint from neighbors," then you walk out and into your art room again.   
  
You spend around four hours doodling or working on/finishing commissions and at about midnight, you start finding it hard to keep your eyes open so you go to bed relatively early for it being you.   
  
  
  
  
Tuesday is the same as Monday but classes are a bit more boring for some reason and you can't help feeling sad as you think about John and stuff going on at the moment, it really sucks.   
  
After you get home, you get another text from John.   
  
_"_ work was so boring today, i wanted to know if you wanted to go on another date on saturday?"  
  
You shake your head to yourself, no you can't. You'll bury yourself in work if you need to. You're gonna be at Precision all day anways. Your phone vibrates again.

 _"btw i don’t know what days you work so sorry if you do work that day… and if you were at work for the last few texts i’ve sent y_ __ou.”  
  
You bite your lip and turn your phone off. You eat again and work on that song from Monday night. It's finished by ten and then you finish up the two other commissions you had to paint for two people. You go to bed at eleven, still feeling down.  
  
  
  
  
Wednesday happens, fuck Wednesday. One teacher embarrassed you in class because you didn't seem to be paying attention and god knows how much attention she needs on her. All of it. She needs all of the attention. Then at work, some chick wouldn't stop hitting on you and making you feel really uncomfortable and stuff, then she got mad at you when you didn't give her your number, claiming she'd tell the manager that you should be fired. _Good luck with that one honey, the manager's my brother._  
  
You just feel so done with the day by the end of it, once you get home (later than usual, at ten) you just go to your room, strip to your boxers, and plop into bed. You (regrettably) check your phone again. Two texts from John.  
  
_“oh god i bet i’m being so annoying but i’m getting kinda worried about you. sorry.”_  


_“and goodnight, hope you’re sleeping well and having a good day.”_

You frown at your phone and throw it away from yourself onto the foot of the bed. You shut your eyes and lay still as you try forcing yourself into sleep.   
  
You'd guess it's an hour before you finally fall into another uneasy sleep after many guilty and sad thoughts of John.   
  
  
  
  
You don't go to school today, not work either. You need a day to yourself.   
  
You spend almost all day on your laptop listening to music, you drive through McDonald's for lunch and then get subway for dinner. So basically you ate well and did nothing.   
  
At about ten you get another (lovely) message from John.   
  
_"...you know i can see that you've read all these messages almost directly after they send, right? i hope i don't sound obsessed with you or anything, i'm just... worried i guess."_  
  
You groan. Is he going to stop? You don't want him to but you need to, for his sake. It's gonna be okay, you'll live... Maybe.  
  
  
  
  
Friday, thank god indeed.   
  
Bro said you could take the rest of today off as well because you have no appointments and he can handle any walk-ins. So you're driving home from Burger King, where you got dinner, and Target because you needed more food (and you got a fuck ton of candy, hell yeah.)  
  
You walk inside your place once you get there and walk in, going to the "kitchen" and you set your few bags on the counter, putting away your stuff and then you take out some starbursts and then walk over into your art room, looking around and thinking of what to do. You go over and sit down as you munch at your chewy candies, you set aside the bag and grab a pencil before taking out your sketchbook and beginning to draw.   
  
You start out by just drawing bare torsos and shoulders, then you move on to drawing random faces with different hairstyles... Which ends up with you starting to draw John as one of them.  _Stop, no John. Draaaaw... some fanart instead. Yeah, fanart._  
  
You sigh and turn to a fresh page, starting to draw your favorite character from Steven Universe (your new favorite show), Pearl, and it ends up kinda cool you guess. Then you just sigh and flip the page and start drawing John again since it's all you seem to have inspiration for.   
  
You draw probably ten small Johns in different poses and angles as practice and you sigh as you stand up, eating another Starburst before walking out and grabbing your camera. You go to check your phone for John's usual message then remember it's only just after nine, he's still at work and it's Friday so it's probably busy. You also remember what a selfish asshole you are for  _expecting_  John's text.   
  
You let your phone stay put on your kitchen counter and walk out of your studio, taking a way up to the roof where you take lots of pictures all the time or you just go to relax. You sigh as you sit down on the ledge and face the sunset, sighing contently. The suns almost all the way down now and you lift your camera to your unshaded right eye before you begin to snap some pictures.   
  
You take pictures of the sunset and then of the city lights that can be seen as far as the eye can see seemingly. It's California so of course there's a lot of them, you're just glad that you don't live in any of the cities where it's so crowded you can barely breath safely anywhere. And out here you like it more than Texas, it's hot there and full of gross homophobes, you and Bro and Dirk didn't belong. You three needed a change of scenery.   
  
You stay out on the roof for over three hours, the sky is pretty dark as you finally come back down, feeling content with your shots. You come inside and put your camera down, walking over to the kitchen and you grab a bottle of apple juice before checking your iPho- oh, it's dead. You should go plug that in, which is what you do, you set it on your turntable after plugging it in and then you take a seat, turning it on and you set it to play the latest song you made.   
  
You lean back in your chair with your arms at your sides and sigh, feet tapping along to the beat as you listen closely to it. Feeling out each rhythm and beat, you hum along so it and sigh contently, a small smile curving at your lips as the last climax of the song begins to slowly come i- _bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt!_  
  
You sit up and glance at your iPhone, you pause your music and pick it up. Two messages and two voice mails from John...  _Oh no._ You guld a bit and click on the texts first, wondering why you're so nervous.   
  
_“look i know i’m probably pestering you, but i’m getting kinda worried with how you aren’t texting me back... are you okay?”_

 _”i’m sorry if i said something wrong.. or like, scared you off. i didn’t mean to.”_  

You sigh, furrowing your eyebrows.  _God you're so stupid, you need to talk to him asap._ You then hesitantly his the voice mail and hold your phone up to your ear, after a few moments you hear John's voice, but it's quite slurred and... Drunk sounding.   
  
“Heeey Dave… It’s me John, did you expect me? I bet you did! Because I… I have been worried about you, but I dunno if you have been worried about me, maybe it’s because like, I fucked up or something, or because all I did was message you n shit, sorrrrryy. I know I’m annoying, I should of taken a himt, himt… hint, yeah. I mean like I’ve been cheated on an’ fucked over before, my heart is like… it’s like a tiny lil piece of heart and all I did was give more an more of it away and now… I think I like gave you my last piece dave, And it was like the biggest piece I had dude, because like I mean, we did some stuff together and shit… ohhhhhh myyy goooood, Dave?? Dave. Did you just have sex with me because sex is great, an then you stopped talking to me? is.. is that waht happened? I’m srory man, this guy that I was like in LOVE with cheated on me, the whole time i thought he was dating me.. He lied to me for two years Dave, two years! Ohmygooodd that fucked me up so bad, you have noideaaa, and then like i didn’ wanna date anymore but the ni saw you and was all like shit yes pls, and i thought you were too but… I guess you weren’t like that so, uh.. I’m sorry. Oh shit there’s beeps I think that means I’m taking too long so uhhhh, yeah I’ll T-T-Y-L! hehe”   
  
Your eyes blink, they're blown wide as you bite your lip to stop yourself from frowning or possibly even crying? No, of course not crying. Striders don't cry.   
  
You gulp and tap on the second voice mail, John's voice is still slurred but it's also apparent that he is and has been crying.   
  
“Dave… Did i do something to upset you? like… Like have I offended you some how?… Are you ashamed of me man? ‘Cause I mean, if I have then I’m sorry.. ‘Cause I was really hoping… I mean… I kinda thought… I think I love you dave, and with how you’re acting… I’m not sure if you feel the same feels that I think I’m feelin’…”

You hear him pause to let out a small sob, and after a moment, he starts talking again. Your eyes are welling up.  _God damn it Dave, get a hold of yourself._  
  
“I-I’m sorry Dave, if i caused you troubles.. I didn’t m-mean to do it I… I swear… If you don’t like me anymore, and that I was jus' a one night stand to you, could you like, like tell me? ‘Cause I need to know if I should still say I got a bf.. and if i should keep a date in my insta bio an shit… I need ta know Dave… I fucked up again.”

You hear him pause to sniffle and a small tear slips past your eyelids.   
  
“I always find a way ta fuck up things that I.. really care about.. Don’t I?.. I’ll leave you alone now Davey, love yah.. Bye bye.”   
  
The voice mail ends and you silently sniffle and let out a gasp for air as you didn't know you were holding your breath. You set down your phone.  _This is why you shouldn't of fucking gotten into his life, you fucked him up and now you've gone and broken his already broken heart. You're a sad excuse for a Strider or anything for that matter._  
  
You sniffle and walk into your room and slam your door shut behind you. You yell because right now you just need to, you need to scream and cry and punch something and... Breath, you need to breathe. All the memories of your last relationship that you crashed and burned because you devoted too much to him when all he wanted was attention come flooding back, you sigh shakily as you attempt to somewhat contain yourself.   
  
Once your breaths are even, you feel tired and you just drag yourself into bed.  _No more talking to John, You fucked him up too much already._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading guys! hah, hope no one was expecting it to get less sad with this chapter. :) love you guys. 
> 
> (i added a location too to be able to add more interesting stuff) 
> 
> and keep up the comments omg i don't think you guys realize how happy and stuff i feel when you guys comment, even if its like a question and stuff.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed and if you did then be sure to leave me a comment and maybe even a kudos please! Feedback is definitely appreciated!!
> 
> my Tumblr is kchasswag if you either wanted to message me or just follow/stalk me!


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